Run Down Runabout pt. 2

Posted on Mon Jul 4th, 2022 @ 2:55am by Lieutenant Commander Dorian Sheppard & Captain Devin Hadenbeer & Lieutenant Commander Ull Arkyn & Lieutenant Commander R'elle & Lieutenant Commander Klarth & Lieutenant JG Alia Fitzgerald
Edited on on Wed Jul 6th, 2022 @ 8:12pm

1,841 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Into The Void

KUOKANJOKI

Those responsible for constructing the device had only an hour to work before Lionheart showed up. Unfortunately for the crew of the Lionheart and the staff of Gabriel Station on hand a lot could be done in an hour, especially when you had on hand people who excelled at dirty tricks. The device was keyed to two photon torpedoes stuffed into the back of the Kwango and once sensors detected a significant change in air pressure after three bodies had departed, those torpedoes detonated.


The Kuokanjoki shuddered as it was caught in the blast, alarms went off as the hull was breached in the cockpit, the forward screen punctured by fragments of the doomed sister runabout. Ironically enough the decision to don space suits might have saved all involved. The runabout began to spin out of control as damaged inertial dampeners attempted to keep up. Even so those in the crowded cockpit felt themselves thrown to the deck!

Qetzal steadied herself against the seat she'd been thrown from in order to hit the controls for the emergency structural integrity field. After she was sure they wouldn't be blown out of the ship and the internal pressure started to return to normal, she tried to focus on the telemetry, but the artificial gravity was throwing her equilibrium off tremendously.

It was crowded in the cockpit with six bodies but Ull's people managed to help him to his feet. He took the co-pilot's chair and after a moment said over suit coms, "Well, it could be worse. I mean, there's not imminent warp core breach, but-"

The runabout jerked. He checked the panel and added, "We have been tractored by...yes, Lionheart. Sensors are a bit of a mess but I can tell that much."

In the back Klarth saw the trio of survivors from the Kwango appear right before the explosion went off. He was thrown off his feet and felt the impact of a female Caitian against him. He saw an Andorian male fly into what appeared to be a Gorn, the former had been unconscious and could not control his impact and Klarth saw the poor man's head twist sharply with a sickeningly loud snap!

Despite the seriousness of it all Klarth did momentarily recall that the possibly delirious Caitian had been rather flirty, but gently moving her aside he thought this is probably not the kind of physical contact she had in mind. Klarth immediately went over to the Andorian to check him even though he was pretty sure that neck injury had been fatal. Then he gave the other two a quick once over to see what injuries they had. Then he looked around to see what could be used to secure the patients so if there were more bumps in the road, this wouldn't go flying again and injure themselves and him anymore than they already did. He also tapped his communicator and said "Are you two all right up there? What happened? Are we under attack?"

Klarth found the surviving pair had suffered numerous contusions and trauma associated with a vessel taking a beating, and both were very much unconscious, likely concussed.

Klarth managed to strap them down and the dead body too.

"Yeah, I have a note here that says, 'Dear Runabout Crew, we are attacking you with things that explode. Hope you don't mind. We'd give you more details, but we forgot about writing down the rest of the plan for you.'" Junix called back to the doctor. She wasn't sure if the sarcasm would translate, but she didn't have much time to actually analyze the situation.

"That's a very strange note" said Klarth as he examined his patients with the hand scanner of a medical tricorder to check for neurological damage or internal bleeding. Off handedly he said, "Keep me informed."

Klarth found the Gorn was in bad shape but his species was hardy. It was the Caitian would would most need his attention when they reached Lionheart due to her concussion and internal injuries.

Ull smiled slightly at that as he killed power to the thrusters since they could not resist the tractor beam at the moment. But his hands were on the controls, waiting for Junix's command.

"Check the stabilizers in case the tractor beam is released," JunIx asked of Ull while she looked over the structural integrity field once more.

LIONHEART

There were days when Devin hated being right. She had smelled a trap and assumed the best case scenario sought out by their enemy would have been to have taken Kwango on board. There in the shuttle bay the explosives would have gone off, savaging Lionheart from within.

"Toelau, take us close to the runabout," she turned and surveyed who she had immediately available. She had only seconds-less-to make some decisions.

"Counselor," Devin snapped, "I hope you weren't sleeping during your ship systems courses because I need you to get a tractor beam on that runabout."

"It's been a while but I still remember how to do that!" R'elle replied. With that she locked on the tractor beam to the runabout. "Ok, got a lock!"

"Fitzgerald, either our runabout is going to be shot at or we are and we might have to drop shields. I need inhuman speed and precision in dropping and raising said shields. I know that station is not home but do your best."

She rested her hands on the panel in front of her. "Ready, Captain!" Alia focused, *Inhuman speed or we get blasted to random photons. I suppose it could be worse.* Her mind wasn't able to produce a worse scenario immediately, so she avoided that line of thought. She had three shield drop presets and four presets she could use depending on the circumstances. The fourth one would bypass safety protocols and cut off any transport sequence but could save the ship. She hoped that she wouldn't have to use it but... she was ready.

"Sheppard, please tell me we have warp power."

“We have Warp capability,” Sheppard comms from the transporter room. “Captain, we need to get them transported now. Their signatures are highly unstable.”

“LaBrea to Engineering, Ensign Collins, be ready to siphon from the phaser banks again,” she interjects.

“Captain, I’m losing them!” Sheppard warns! He adjusts ion frequencies and does some quick calculations in his head. “LaBrea, take your delta to negative six in point one increments. Tell me when you get resonance harmony,” he comms.

"Alia, drop shields n-"

"Captain!" ensign Jun called out from tactical, "I am reading a decloaking vessel dead astern on an attack run!"

"On us or the runabout?" Hadenbeer asked as she held up a staying hand to Fitzgerald.

"I..ah..." flustered, Jun checked the board.

"Toelau, get us between that ship and the runabout! R'elle, drop the tractor beam!"

"Dropping tractor beam!" She said and deactivated it.

Alia's hands hovered above her controls. "Captain, shall I extend the shields now?"

Hadenbeer glanced between Ops and Tactical. She hesitated, there was something in her features, an almost sad resignation, "Computer, activate Emergency Tact-"

"Vessel is a Klingon B'rel class, it was on a run for the runabout but it's changing course, veering off," Jun stated. He hesitated then added, "It's gone back to cloak, sir."

Devin nodded, they were not going to get a better chance, "Fitzgerald, extend out shields to protect the runabout!"

Alia jumped in and activated the programs she had set up. Using the moment when the Klingon was cloaking and unable to use their weapon systems, she moved to protect the runabout. The Lionheart's shields flickered and extended to surround the beleaguered craft. "Shield expanded! The shape no longer fits ideal parameters so it's 15% weaker."

"Mister Sheppard, we will be going to warp quite soon."

“Acknowledged,” Sheppard comms in reply. “Captain, we have transporter lock on the away team and survivors. Ready to energize.”

"Understood, Commander," Devin replied, "I will let you know if that will be the option we take."

"Sir? We aren't staying to engage?" Jun inquired, a bit confused and possible more than a little miffed.

"A good lesson to learn is you never do what the enemy wants," Devin explained to the ensign, "They want us here, I want to be elsewhere."

Alia murmured, all but inaudible in her encounter suite, "They don't want us to go to that station and definitely don't want these people saved.”

Ull fired up the thrusters on the runabout as soon as he felt the tractor beam release and moved to shadow Lionheart, as close as manageable, while keeping the Klingon vessel out of view. "Looks like the Klingon were waiting for their trap to go off."

Hadenbeer stepped over to Operations and murmured, "Pardon me, Counselor," then quickly patched herself through to the runabout. "Kuokanjoki, this is Lionheart. Do you think you are in good enough shape to dock in shuttle bay one, or are we assuming the vessel is in no fit state?"

"We can dock," Junix confirmed. "We will need a medical team to meet us there."

"Understood, Commander," Devin noted. She tapped her comm badge, "Sickbay, have a trauma team sent to shuttle bay one to assist Doctor Klarth."

"Acknowledged," S'Lace's stoic voice replied."

"Toelau, set a course for Gabriel Station. Once lieutenant Fitzgerald confirms the runabout is secure I want best possible speed there. Do not wait for my go ahead, just engage, understood?"

Toelau's response was a jerky nod.

Engineering:
Sheppard calls out, “T’Spall, E.T.A.?”

“Sir, there’s an interference in the plasma transfer conduit,” the Vulcan explains.

“Interference?” the Chief Engineer questions.

“Yes, sir,” T’Spall replies still in a Jeffries tube, reaching shoulder deep behind a circuit panel and grunting. “A (grunt) physical (ow) interference,” she states, snapping something loose and wriggling her arm out. “Sir, you need to see this,” she says.

Sheppard makes his way to Jeffries Tube 22 and looks down at the Ensign, who is holding up a twisted, melted, black and silver object.

“Sabotage,” the Chief Science Office whispers.

“Apparently,” the Vulcan replies.

Tapping his comm badge, Sheppard says, “Sheppard to Hadenbeer. Captain, we have a bigger problem than the Klingons.”

Tag Hadenbeer

KUOKANJOKI

In the shuttle, Junix Qetzal kept Klarth appraised as they returned to Shuttle Bay One, a bit worse for wear then when they departed. She could see the medical team waiting as she and Ull set the runabout down and opened the doors. She opened a channel to the bridge, "We're secured," she let them know, watching as the bay doors finished closing.

"Understood, Commander. Ensign Toelau, best possible warp speed for Gabriel Station!"

Lionheart leaped into warp soon after. Devin took a deep breath, then quietly stated, "Stand down to yellow alert. It was possible the bird of prey would be on their trail but the ship could not stay at red alert indefinitely.

As the ship made best possible speed she wondered what they would find...and whom would be waiting for them there...

 

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